Holiday home decorating tips from Jonathan Scott

HGTV star Jonathan Scott knows how to celebrate the holidays at home right. Every year the home-improvement entrepreneur opens up his Las Vegas home to family and friends for a cozy Christmas gathering.

SheKnows sat down with the Property Brothers star and got his tips for decorating for the holidays.

Jonathan Scott is no stranger to having family around. He regularly collaborates with twin brother Drew on real estate and home renovation projects, which are documented on their shows Property Brothers, Brother vs. Brother and Buying and Selling.

After spending so much time with family, one would expect Jonathan to run for the hills come holiday season. Not so with this family-first guy. He decks the halls and creates a cozy Christmas ambiance for spending the holidays with family.

A Christmas story

“I am big on Christmas,” Scott says. “I love Christmas and the fact that it brings the family together. We grew up on a ranch, so every year we had the big ranch Christmases.”

His family regularly opened up their home to friends who didn’t have anywhere to go for the holidays, and it was common to have 10 to 15 people over for Christmas. It’s a tradition Scott continues as an adult now that Christmas is hosted at his Las Vegas home.

“For me, Christmas is all about family,” Scott says. “We’ve usually got the music, and my mom and I make all the food for everybody.”

Set the scene

“When I stage the home for the holidays, I want it to feel cozy and comfortable, and basically I want to make my place the home away from home for everyone who couldn’t get to their house.”

To achieve a welcoming look, Scott incorporates traditional holiday decor. “I tend to do a lot of warm, rich tones over the holidays. And I do have the garland, and I have the lights in it, and I have a very large tree.”

Scott describes his tree as “elegantly done” and regularly changes his decorating theme each year.

Savvy holiday decor

As you might expect, this DIY lover makes a lot of his own holiday decor. He also frequently reuses accessories from previous years, but will change it up slightly just to keep the look fresh.

For example, he ordered a “really thick, regal-looking garland” from overseas and gives it a custom look each year by hanging the same bulbs as the tree and adding a coordinating ribbon.

To keep costs down, he regularly shops budget-friendly favorites like Ikea and HomeGoods for new ornaments and decorative accents. “Surprisingly, Ikea has a phenomenal selection of every different style you can think of, and [is] very cost effective.”

Refresh your decor each year with inexpensive bulbs and ornaments. Try: 50-Piece ornament set (Target, $15).

A sentimental touch

Scott’s tree might have an elegant theme that he changes up each year, “but I’ve also got a lot of the cheesy old Christmas ornaments from years past,” he says. “I still put all of our cheesy ones that we made as kids, and all that.”